A recruiting nightmare!

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tjgopher said:
I think the issue for many is the phrasing.

A thread titled "RECRUITING NIGHTMARE!" (exclamation point and all) would lead one to believe something really serious is taking place and lead one to open the thread. Then when one opens it, one finds out the so-called nightmare is the fact that the Gophers don't have a DL recruit (actually they have one). Of course, it is a concern. But, let's leave "recruiting nightmare" thread titles for something that might actually be alarming, or actually be a nightmare.

Had Dean been truly interested in opening a substantive dialogue on this on a message board, it might help him to name the thread with something like "is anyone else concerned?" and ask for opinions. But, threats started with absolute language, hyperbole, negativity, and exclamation points don't exactly exude "let's have a discussion." Instead, it gets a bit combative from the original post moving forward.

Just one man's opinion.
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Combative? Surely, you jest. Yes, it appears "absolutist". Maybe I should have said Ohio state hasn't had fewer than 4 recruits since 2004. Or, maybe I should have prefaced it with the notion that Kill has increased the quality of players and play each and every year he has been here. Or, I could have said nothing and just wondered if and when we will get some more guys like impressive Mr. Beebe for the DL. If Matt H, says he is great, than I'm just thrilled. I like Matt. He's da bomb!

All I want to know is if we are truly going to land these guys and what is taking so long to get a full class committed. Seems simple enough. Thanks, everyone, for pointing out my absolutist language, my apparent desire to get into a peeing contest, and my perpetual negativity.
 

Dean S said:
Thanks, everyone, for pointing out my absolutist language, my apparent desire to get into a peeing contest, and my perpetual negativity.
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Well...I guess we can "passive aggressive" to that list now. :)
 

nasa35 said:
Yeah, someone posts a concern, attacks no one and then you jacks start personally attacking him. Most of you must be about 110 pounds or 400 pounds.

So according to you Einstein's, no DL in a recruiting class isn't a concern? A reasonable person would at least think about that, then either agree or disagree.

Me? I don't know if it's a concern because I don't know what the true depth at the DL is.
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Thanks a ton for not being childish, rude or cowardly.
 

Look, I understand Dean's point - but comparing the Gophers Recruiting to Ohio State is (IMHO) not really a fair comparison. OSU is a traditional power - oh, and the reigning NCAA Large-school national champions. The Gophers, with one or two exceptions, have not been a major player in the national scene for a very long time. The Gophs are probably never going to be the type of program that opens the doors, and watches the 4* and 5* recruits come pouring in. They will always have to work a little (lot) harder, and may have to take chances on less-heralded recruits.

But - the time to evaluate a recruiting class is after the national signing day, not before. With all due respect, I think Dean is dealing with a premature nightmare.
 









Does anyone know if there's any chance some of our massive o-line recruits could potentially be moved to d-tackle? I know you can never have too many quality o-lineman, but I wouldn't mind seeing one of those 6' 5", 320 lb. behemoths wrecking shtuff up front.
 

go_gophers said:
Does anyone know if there's any chance some of our massive o-line recruits could potentially be moved to d-tackle? I know you can never have too many quality o-lineman, but I wouldn't mind seeing one of those 6' 5", 320 lb. behemoths wrecking shtuff up front.
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Connelly would be be the best one if that were to happen but no, no chance. Thats fine though as out D-line situation is no worse of a concern than LB or WR right now.
 

Dean S said:
Defensive linemen recruits 2014

Ohio State - 4 DE, 1 DT
Illinois - 0
Indiana - 3 DE
Iowa - 3 DE, 1 DT
Maryland - 3 DE, 1 DT
Michigan - 0 on
Michigan St - 2 DE
MINNESOTA - 0, zip, nadda,
Nebraska - 2 DE, 2 DT
Northwestern - 3 DE
Penn St - 1 DE
Purdue - 3 DE, 1 DT
Rutgers - 2 DE, 2 DT
Wisconsin - 3 DE, 2 DT

Every year, we have recruited heavily along the defensive line, except this year. Why? We lost two to graduation. This has been a good run for line development. Why the donut hole this year that will ripple outward for the next few years? This is NEVER the case with Ohio St, who always fill a whole line on defense, without fail, ever. In fact, they almost always have 4 and sometimes 5 recruits on the line in the last decade, maybe more. In 1 year they had 3 recruits along the line. Minnesota did not have a dominant line this year. It was adequate and not stellar. Why the void in D-line recruits? Anybody have any ideas why this year we didn't gain any d-line recruits. If we land one, that guy is going to be mighty lonely.
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Why when I read this did I do in the voice of Fran Dresher? "Oh My God, Its a Total Nightmare!"
 

Dean S said:
Combative? Surely, you jest. Yes, it appears "absolutist". Maybe I should have said Ohio state hasn't had fewer than 4 recruits since 2004. Or, maybe I should have prefaced it with the notion that Kill has increased the quality of players and play each and every year he has been here. Or, I could have said nothing and just wondered if and when we will get some more guys like impressive Mr. Beebe for the DL. If Matt H, says he is great, than I'm just thrilled. I like Matt. He's da bomb!

All I want to know is if we are truly going to land these guys and what is taking so long to get a full class committed. Seems simple enough. Thanks, everyone, for pointing out my absolutist language, my apparent desire to get into a peeing contest, and my perpetual negativity.
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Fair questions but as many have already pointed out, recruiting is far from over. You even posted what other teams in the Big Ten have recruited at DL so far. There are other teams (including a great defensive team in Michigan St) who have few DL commitments so far.

The facts are only five Big Ten teams have more commitments than the Gophers right now so it isn't like we're behind or anything. We just haven't had as many commitments at a certain position as they'd probably like. If signing day comes and goes and we don't get another DL commitment, then we should be maybe be a little concerned. Even at that point I would hardly call it a "nightmare".
 



These last two weeks is war as far as recruiting is concerned.

You hope that you don't have last minute poaching of committed players, and you hope that you can flip a position of need or get lucky with players who suddenly don't have a home (oversignings, late qualifiers, etc...).

How many recruits did the Gophers lost last year this late in the game?

On the other hand, we landed Craig James 2/5/14, and Desmond Gant on 6/12/14 (late qualifier?) late.

No time to panic yet.

In Kill we trust!
 

One thing I don't believe has been adequately addressed here is that recruiting "gurus" often simply list a player's position as either what he played in HS or what they "think" he will play in college. This isn't always accurate. Beebe is a good example as he has been listed as a FB and LB but is likely to play DE for the Gophs. Kill has a history of changing players positions, as he and the staff constantly evaluate them based on S and C progress and skill set. He likes bulking up athletes in such a way as they retain their athleticism and suddenly have measurables comparable with 4 and 5 star players at their new positions. He likes moving skill players to where they can best help the team. LBs turn into DEs, safeties turn into LBs, DB's turn into WR's and vice versa, FB's, HB's and TE's become interchangeable. Redshirts we may have assumed will play one position wind up playing another. With what Kill has accomplished with 2 and 3 star recruits I trust him to continue developing good football players who are quality human beings.
 


Rescooter said:
Personally, my nightmares don't involve recruiting D-Lines. They usually involve clowns and Dean S complaining about something.
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It must be catching. I am starting to have them also.:cry:
 

nasa35 said:
Yeah, someone posts a concern, attacks no one and then you jacks start personally attacking him. Most of you must be about 110 pounds or 400 pounds.

So according to you Einstein's, no DL in a recruiting class isn't a concern? A reasonable person would at least think about that, then either agree or disagree.

Me? I don't know if it's a concern because I don't know what the true depth at the DL is.
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Don't worry, ignorance is a blessing, especially at the GoherHole.
 


MNVCGUY said:
I agree that the personal attacks are childish and unnecessary but I still stand by my earlier comment that this is a thread that shouldn't be started until we actually see how the class shakes out on signing day. As many have pointed out there should be more DL recruits coming and there is no doubt the staff is trying to recruit the position. If signing days comes and goes and we only have one DL recruit in the class that would be a cause for some concern but a lot can happen between now and signing day.
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And if we remember last year, we got three recruits past NSD:

Craig James DB 2/5/14
Rashaun Croney ATH/DB 3/30/14 (enrolled at Ellsworth CC, doubts about qualifying)
Desmond Gant WR 6/12/14 (late qualifier)

We got potentially two very good players late, and we may still see DB Rashaun Croney back in a year.
 

valid concern. Finding diamonds in the rough is harder at dline than any other position. The coaches have generally done a great job of finding players who are better than their rating, but I think they would say dline is about as large a challenge as they have, especially when we seldom have local dlinemen, and then we get guys like Cornell who completely blow up.
 

hungan1 said:
And if we remember last year, we got three recruits past NSD:

Craig James DB 2/5/14
Rashaun Croney ATH/DB 3/30/14 (enrolled at Ellsworth CC, doubts about qualifying)
Desmond Gant WR 6/12/14 (late qualifier)

We got potentially two very good players late, and we may still see DB Rashaun Croney back in a year.
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Craig James signed on NSD and was a silent verbal for many weeks prior to that.
 



Our national nightmare is over.over.

Sent from my LG-L38C using Tapatalk 2
 

I don't see where this is a significant pick up, he's too slow to play end and too small to play inside. This is a red shirt for sure.
 

nasa35 said:
I don't see where this is a significant pick up, he's too slow to play end and too small to play inside. This is a red shirt for sure.
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That's some deep insight. You work at NASA?
 

nasa35 said:
I don't see where this is a significant pick up, he's too slow to play end and too small to play inside. This is a red shirt for sure.
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What did this kid do to you to induce you to denigrate him on two separate threads. Fairly d!ck-like.
 

nasa35 said:
I don't see where this is a significant pick up, he's too slow to play end and too small to play inside. This is a red shirt for sure.
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So who in your wonderful world would be a "significant impact" then? Especially when we have guys with significant experience coming back and guys coming back from injury. The D line will be young but I don't really get who you think is magically, as a HS senior, going to walk through those doors next fall and be the anchor of the D line
 


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